Antarctic katabatic winds and their interaction with a coastal polynya in Terra Nova Bay, studied by Eta Model simulations and satellite images
Coastal polynyas are areas of partially or totally ice free water which form in coastal regions during the wintertime in spite of the low air temperatures. Coastal polynyas are often referred to as ‘latent heat polynyas’ .They are thought to be opened and maintained by strong offshore winds blowing...
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ftunivmodena:oai:iris.unimore.it:11380/596539 2024-01-14T10:02:10+01:00 Antarctic katabatic winds and their interaction with a coastal polynya in Terra Nova Bay, studied by Eta Model simulations and satellite images MORELLI, Sandra G. Casini Morelli, Sandra G., Casini 2008 ELETTRONICO http://hdl.handle.net/11380/596539 eng eng European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2008 volume:10 firstpage:EGU2008-A-02247 journal:GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH ABSTRACTS http://hdl.handle.net/11380/596539 Katabatic wind numerical simulation polynya Antarctica info:eu-repo/semantics/article 2008 ftunivmodena 2023-12-19T23:22:26Z Coastal polynyas are areas of partially or totally ice free water which form in coastal regions during the wintertime in spite of the low air temperatures. Coastal polynyas are often referred to as ‘latent heat polynyas’ .They are thought to be opened and maintained by strong offshore winds blowing over the area, and by the curvature of the coastline. Sea ice is removed by the wind and new ice is constantly formed and exported (Smith et al, 1990) with a consequent release of latent heat . Atmospheric numerical modelling and satellite observations are fundamental tools for the analysis of winter polynya events occurring over remote and often data sparse polar regions.This study concerns the region of Terra Nova Bay (TNB) in Antarctica, where a recurring coastal polynya occurs offshore the Italian Antarctic Base ‘Mario Zucchelli Station’ (MZS). The aim is the study of a real event of TNB polynya and the two way interaction between strong katabatic winds, blowing from the coast, and development of the polynya. The atmospheric circulation of the area is studied by simulations performed with ETA model in its last version (Mesinger et al., 2006), also with a piecewise linear advection for the wind field. A previous version of the model was yet successfully used for simulations in the Antarctic area (De Carolis et al, 2006, Casini e Morelli, 2007). Satellite images from AMSR-E (Morelli et al, 2007) and AVHRR and observational data integrate the analysis. The presented case study is a polynya event happened during the period 12-17 July 2006. AMSR-E images displayed the presence of a sea ice free area, that reached an extension of 4000 km2 on 16 July 2006. 72 hours simulations were carried on in order to study the atmospheric circulation of the period over a large area; ECMWF analyses provided the initial and boundary conditions. Furthermore, ETA simulations, nested in the previous domain, were performed with a finer resolution. To gain some insight on atmospheric response to open water within a sea ice field, ... Article in Journal/Newspaper Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Sea ice Archivio della ricerca dell'Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Unimore: IRIS) Antarctic The Antarctic Terra Nova Bay Eta ENVELOPE(-62.917,-62.917,-64.300,-64.300) Mario Zucchelli ENVELOPE(164.123,164.123,-74.695,-74.695) Mario Zucchelli Station ENVELOPE(164.117,164.117,-74.700,-74.700) |
institution |
Open Polar |
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Archivio della ricerca dell'Università di Modena e Reggio Emilia (Unimore: IRIS) |
op_collection_id |
ftunivmodena |
language |
English |
topic |
Katabatic wind numerical simulation polynya Antarctica |
spellingShingle |
Katabatic wind numerical simulation polynya Antarctica MORELLI, Sandra G. Casini Antarctic katabatic winds and their interaction with a coastal polynya in Terra Nova Bay, studied by Eta Model simulations and satellite images |
topic_facet |
Katabatic wind numerical simulation polynya Antarctica |
description |
Coastal polynyas are areas of partially or totally ice free water which form in coastal regions during the wintertime in spite of the low air temperatures. Coastal polynyas are often referred to as ‘latent heat polynyas’ .They are thought to be opened and maintained by strong offshore winds blowing over the area, and by the curvature of the coastline. Sea ice is removed by the wind and new ice is constantly formed and exported (Smith et al, 1990) with a consequent release of latent heat . Atmospheric numerical modelling and satellite observations are fundamental tools for the analysis of winter polynya events occurring over remote and often data sparse polar regions.This study concerns the region of Terra Nova Bay (TNB) in Antarctica, where a recurring coastal polynya occurs offshore the Italian Antarctic Base ‘Mario Zucchelli Station’ (MZS). The aim is the study of a real event of TNB polynya and the two way interaction between strong katabatic winds, blowing from the coast, and development of the polynya. The atmospheric circulation of the area is studied by simulations performed with ETA model in its last version (Mesinger et al., 2006), also with a piecewise linear advection for the wind field. A previous version of the model was yet successfully used for simulations in the Antarctic area (De Carolis et al, 2006, Casini e Morelli, 2007). Satellite images from AMSR-E (Morelli et al, 2007) and AVHRR and observational data integrate the analysis. The presented case study is a polynya event happened during the period 12-17 July 2006. AMSR-E images displayed the presence of a sea ice free area, that reached an extension of 4000 km2 on 16 July 2006. 72 hours simulations were carried on in order to study the atmospheric circulation of the period over a large area; ECMWF analyses provided the initial and boundary conditions. Furthermore, ETA simulations, nested in the previous domain, were performed with a finer resolution. To gain some insight on atmospheric response to open water within a sea ice field, ... |
author2 |
Morelli, Sandra G., Casini |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
MORELLI, Sandra G. Casini |
author_facet |
MORELLI, Sandra G. Casini |
author_sort |
MORELLI, Sandra |
title |
Antarctic katabatic winds and their interaction with a coastal polynya in Terra Nova Bay, studied by Eta Model simulations and satellite images |
title_short |
Antarctic katabatic winds and their interaction with a coastal polynya in Terra Nova Bay, studied by Eta Model simulations and satellite images |
title_full |
Antarctic katabatic winds and their interaction with a coastal polynya in Terra Nova Bay, studied by Eta Model simulations and satellite images |
title_fullStr |
Antarctic katabatic winds and their interaction with a coastal polynya in Terra Nova Bay, studied by Eta Model simulations and satellite images |
title_full_unstemmed |
Antarctic katabatic winds and their interaction with a coastal polynya in Terra Nova Bay, studied by Eta Model simulations and satellite images |
title_sort |
antarctic katabatic winds and their interaction with a coastal polynya in terra nova bay, studied by eta model simulations and satellite images |
publishDate |
2008 |
url |
http://hdl.handle.net/11380/596539 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-62.917,-62.917,-64.300,-64.300) ENVELOPE(164.123,164.123,-74.695,-74.695) ENVELOPE(164.117,164.117,-74.700,-74.700) |
geographic |
Antarctic The Antarctic Terra Nova Bay Eta Mario Zucchelli Mario Zucchelli Station |
geographic_facet |
Antarctic The Antarctic Terra Nova Bay Eta Mario Zucchelli Mario Zucchelli Station |
genre |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Sea ice |
genre_facet |
Antarc* Antarctic Antarctica Sea ice |
op_relation |
European Geosciences Union General Assembly 2008 volume:10 firstpage:EGU2008-A-02247 journal:GEOPHYSICAL RESEARCH ABSTRACTS http://hdl.handle.net/11380/596539 |
_version_ |
1788057036952436736 |